From Dan Brown to The Classroom: Pop Culture, Storytelling, and Critical Thinking in Prague and Florence

Description

How can we help students make sense of a world that is full of information, contradictions, and hidden influences?

Now more than ever, educators are asked not only to teach content, but to help learners think critically, connect meaningfully, and act responsibly as citizens. So, how can curiosity become a learning resource, rather than a distraction?

Inspired by the global appeal of Dan Brown’s books, this course explores how storytelling, symbols, and mystery can be used as meaningful and effective educational tools.

Drawing on the narrative approach of his novels (the constant tension between what is visible and what is hidden, between facts and fiction) – in particular, Inferno (set in Florence) and his last work, The Secret of Secrets (set in Prague) – this course will use literature and popular culture as a starting point for a pedagogical journey.

Throughout the course, participants will engage in a layered learning experience, gradually shifting perspective: from global information systems and digital narratives to shared European cultural heritage, local contexts, and finally to the individual learner.

Storytelling, puzzles, and play will be used as learning tools to foster critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and connection, while naturally addressing citizenship, inclusion, and digital literacy.

Florence and Prague, the real-world settings of Dan Brown’s novels, will become some sort of “open-air classrooms”.

Exploring these cities through this kind of narrative lens, participants will be invited to see how popular narratives can shape belief and behavior, and how they, as educators, can responsibly transform curiosity into meaningful, student-centered learning experiences across subjects and age groups.

By the end of the course, participants will have uncovered not a single secret, but a transferable framework: how to design learning that invites inquiry, builds empathy, and empowers students to navigate an increasingly complex world with awareness and confidence.

Concept by Debbie Liebenberg

Learning outcomes

The course will help participants to:

• Strengthen students’ critical thinking and media literacy in the context of global disinformation;
• Foster connection and active citizenship through dialogue, ethical inquiry, and collaboration;
• Use storytelling structures (inspired by Dan Brown’s novels) to design engaging, student-centered lessons; 
• Apply puzzles, symbols, and visual thinking strategies to support inclusive and differentiated learning; 
• Design gamified learning experiences that promote curiosity and creativity; 
• Reflect on identity, values, and inclusion through narrative-based activities;
• Adapt pop culture responsibly for different age groups and subject areas;
• Use digital tools and popular narratives to build interactive lessons for all ages.

Tentative schedule

Day 1 – Introduction to the course

• Introduction to the course, the school, and the external week activities.
• Icebreaker activities;
• Presentations of the participants’ schools.

Fact or fiction: critical thinking in the age of disinformation

• Explore how narratives, media, and algorithms shape beliefs and opinions; 
• Use best-selling novels and pop culture as gateways to discuss truth, manipulation, and misinformation;
• Examine the advantages and disadvantages of using AI in and out of the classroom.

Day 2 – Cultural narratives: stories, heritage, and representation

• Guided walking tour of the host city (Prague or Florence), focusing on sites mentioned and connected to Dan Brown’s novels (respectively, The Secret of Secrets and Inferno) while learning more about what is fact and fiction;
• Discussion about inclusion and representation: whose stories are told and whose are missing.

Day 3 – How meaning is made: codes, symbols, and hidden messages

• Visit a major art or cultural venue to explore how symbols, codes, maps, and visual languages express culture; 
• Experience tools for visual literacy in digital and physical classrooms; 
• Engage in activities to explore interpretation, bias, and multiple perspectives.

Day 4 – Discovering Prague/Florence through stories, puzzles, and play

• Discover the host city (Prague or Florence) through puzzle-based, story-driven learning experiences; 
• Explore gamification as a strategy to promote inquiry, collaboration, and engagement;
• Reflect on how playful learning can be adapted to different age groups and subjects.

Day 5 – Exploring the self through stories

• Use storytelling techniques and pop culture to foster awareness and creative expression; 
• Focus on personal narratives, identity, and belonging; 
• Use of storytelling for empathy, inclusion, and well-being.

Day 6 – Course closure and cultural activities

• Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
• Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance;
• Excursion and other external cultural activities.

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